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Final Exam
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Final Exam
Identifications
1. Berlin Wall
It was August 13, 1961, when the government of East Germany started constructing the Berlin Wall, which was a symbol of rejection of the North German Fascists. The wall was constructed with the purpose of disconnecting East Germany from West Germany. It was aimed at stopping people of East Germany to migrate to West Germany. It was an isolation of the communist zone of East Germany under control of the Soviets from the rest of the country at that time, under control of Britain, France, and the US. The wall is considered to be demolished on November 9, 1989, however, it is only the official date. The actual fall of the wall happened on June 13 the next year when the citizens of East Germany were allowed to travel across North Germany. The Berlin Wall was a symbol of the cold war as well as the absence of freedom under communist rule. The division created between eastern and western parts of Berlin was actually a representative of the division between the communist alliance and the capitalist alliance.
2. Globalization
Among different views about the advent of globalization, it is most plausible to acknowledge that globalization began in the late nineteenth century when trade began to increase beyond the borders, and people started sharing cultures considerably. It can also be named as ‘modern globalization.’ It occurred mostly at the economic, cultural, and political fronts. Traditionally, the political activity of a state was confined to its borders. With increasing globalization, this activity became influential at the global level, affecting other countries. Political activity expands across national boundaries through nonprofit organizations and global movements. The global economy is affected by the large economic institutions such as IMF, WTO, and the World Bank. Critiques have varying views about globalization. The supporters claim it unites people on many different platforms, the international trade, the Internet, etc., and the opponents charge it with the suppression of poor countries and causing hindrance to their development and welfare. Cultural harmony is another effect of globalization that influences people of the world to act in a similar way.
3. TET Offensive
It was a military campaign that was carried out against the militaries of South Vietnam and the United States. The Vietcong group and the army of North Vietnam led this campaign, starting from January 30, 1968, to September 23, 1968. It comprises three waves of offensive. January 30 to March 28 made the first wave; May 5 to June 15 made the second wave. August 9 to September 23 made the third wave. In total, it involved around six hundred thousand forces of the communists who attacked the towns and cities held by South Vietnam and the US. The offensive resulted in numerous killings on both sides with only fifty thousand of the communists. The Vietcong became in much adverse condition, and they could not be able to take control of any territory effectively. This implies that the US and South Vietnam held the victory tactically. The communists of South Vietnam demonstrated in the offensive that they were rigid, and they could not be defeated easily. The communists were considered to be strategically victorious because forces of the US and South Vietnam experienced demoralization in their respective countries followed by the anti-war movement.
4. Voting Rights Act of 1965
The voting rights act was signed by US President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965. The act empowered the African-American community in the US to vote in the elections held countrywide. This enhanced their status as citizens. They had already been granted the right to vote in the US Constitution under the Constitution’s fifteenth amendment. However, they were not able to vote in the elections until now practically. Later, this act of 1965 underwent amendments five times, and ultimately became a permanent law of the US federation. The impact of this act was that it substantially reduced discrimination among the people. It was further supported by making all forms of discrimination accountable for penalty by law. Intimidating a person to stop him from voting became a serious crime. The act was implemented successfully as the voting percentage among the African-American community increased considerably in later decades.
Essays
1. How did women’s roles change from the 1920s through 2018?
Women’s role in the twentieth century has changed or evolved gradually, and the scope of their responsibilities and rights have broadened with the advent of modernism. They are not bound by social norms anymore. Women of the new era have understood their importance in the society, and they have started movements and campaigns to get their rights to full extent since the late nineteen century. The movements and theories that focus on equal rights of women can be termed as ‘feminism’. The main purpose of feminist movements and ideologies is to eliminate all kinds of discrimination that women confront in society. Although efforts to get the due rights of women have been made by women in earlier times as well, yet collaborative and organized efforts to this end have started in the early twentieth century.
During the 1920s, the role of women was greatly influenced by the effects of war. Most of them came to work as a result of the war. That was a time of liberation for most of the women. They were given the right to vote. They became equal determinants of the government to be elected and enjoyed equal status with men in the society. They were usually called flappers that implied women had the liberty of dressing as they like, and they were free to engage in sexual activity has no restrictions. Short dresses were in fashion and divorce rate became doubled. However, as the change comes gradually and people do not like to change their values or norms easily, some women could not have this liberty of action.
The period of the 1930s was greatly affected by the Great Depression that had an enormous impact on the economy, politics, and culture. Unemployment was at its peak. Political stability was at stake too much extent. Women experienced severe discrimination in this era. They were offered jobs of low profile and were supposed to do household works. Slogans of caring and cooking were raised to address their role in the society. All well-paid jobs were offered to men. This trend increased the dependency of women on men and forced women to stay with their men or partners as subordinates.
In the 1940s, drastic changes occurred in women's roles. They had to work as nurses, drivers, mechanics, and clerks due to World War II. Their family life was shattered to meet the challenges of time. In 1950s, the society was recovering from the adversities of the war. A peaceful society was the goal of every individual, and this period is recognized by observation of gender roles strictly by both men and women. In the 1960s, women were confronted with the issues of discrimination once again and suffered from unequal compensation and sexual harassment at workplaces. It was during this time when the second wave of the movement of feminism emerged with full strength. The 1970s was a period of succession to what started in 1960s. The issues of discrimination and sexual harassment were in importance. Feminist activists fought for the rights of women. In the 1980s, as a result of the feminist activities of two earlier decades, women were able to achieve a better position in the society. They played a significant role in shaping the society and gained high status because of their earnings and social contribution. The 1990s saw the third wave of feminism that was run by the daughters of women involved in the second wave of feminism. They struggled for removing discrimination, gender parity, unequal employment opportunity, rights of reproductive activity, and end of violence against women. In the 2000s, women were seen equaling men in capabilities, and they were also given opportunities to become prosperous. In the 2010s, women are successful as men are. However, the issues of domestic violence and sexual harassment have still not been solved.
Women's role has evolved during all these decades and underwent several experiences. Feminist movements have played a key role in getting their rights, such as the right to vote, employment opportunities, and liberty of choice and freedom of expression.
2. What was the Great Depression and what caused it? What policies did Roosevelt implement to pull the United States out of the Depression and did they work?
The Great Depression was the economic slump that is considered to be the worst in the history of industrialization. It began with the stock market crash of 1929 and lasted until 1939.millions of investors were depleted and Wall Street was completely at stake. The effects of the Great Depression were overwhelming and the economic, political, and cultural aspects of life were completely shattered. People were not able to buy things they needed, and investors were unable to do business. Consequently, the industrial output decreased to minimum levels, and the country had to import goods from Europe. Companies laid off many workers and unemployment had never been seen so prevailing before or after the recession. The impact of unemployment can be seen in 1933, the lowest point of the Great Depression, when around fifteen million people were unemployed in the US, and about half the banks in the country had failed in their operations.
Several domestic and worldwide conditions caused the Great Depression to happen. The most widely cited cause was the crash of the stock market that was seen on October 29, 1929. Within two months, the shareholders lost forty billion dollars. The stock market began to recover the losses but it did not help sufficiently and the US was in the Great Depression by the end of 1930. More than nine thousand banks failed during the 1930s. Banks stopped issuing new loans out of the economic instability and made the deposited amounts of people uninsured, which implied people could not claim their money in case the bank failed. The purchasing power of people was diminished extremely. People with all financial backgrounds reduced purchasing goods. This resulted in an increase in inventory everywhere. Firms stopped much of their manufacturing, and people became unemployed. The tariff imposed by the government on imports was meant for supporting the domestic companies, but it also reduced trade between the US and other countries. Some historians also count World War I as a cause of the recession, because the increased production made during the war was the reason for the surplus of inventory created in the industry. Finally, the drought of Mississippi in 1930 can also be attributed to be the cause of this recession, as many people were not able to buy food or pay taxes and sold their farms for no profit.
Roosevelt took charge amidst the Great Depression and strived for directing the nation to the path of success and prosperity. He did not waste a minute and implemented several policies to improve the economic condition of the country. The four-day bank holiday enforced by Roosevelt was meant for reform legislation to make banking credible. He pledged for 100 days' agenda immediately after being elected and started work for industrial and cultural stabilization. For protection of the depositors’ accounts, Roosevelt initiated FDIC that referred to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. He also created SEC, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which aimed at avoiding the undesired situations happened in the crash of 1929 in the stock market. All the above-said initiatives and many more made up the reforms of Roosevelt’s New Deal (1933-34), and it was characterized by ‘relief, recovery, and reform.’ The second New Deal (1935-38) further reformed legislation and laid the foundation of the social welfare system of the present time. His policies and efforts were successful and steered the nation toward the road to progress and developing self-confidence.
3. How did World War II differ from Vietnam from an American perspective? Be sure to include causes as well as outcomes.
World War II and the war of Vietnam both had the involvement of the US and both wars demonstrate certain differences as well as some similarities. The World War II continued from 1939 until 1945. It began with the attack of Germany on Poland. The US joined the war because the Japanese attacked at Pearl Harbor. The war of Vietnam started much later in 1959 and lasted until 1975. The former was fought on a much larger scale involving a number of nations, whereas the latter was fought based on communist dispute and included only two countries with the involvement of the US. World War II was supported by many people in the US, whereas the war of Vietnam was not supported by a lot of Americans. The Vietnam War was considered to be a bad war, and World War II as the good one. The reason behind the Vietnam War was also unknown to most of the people, whereas, the reason for World War II was evident to everyone. In World War II, the US won the war, while in the Vietnam War, it did not. Around fifty thousand individuals died in the latter, while more than sixty million persons lost their lives in the former.
4. In what ways did American foreign policy change since the Civil War and in what areas has it remained the same?
Foreign policy refers to the decisions and actions which aim at promoting the national interests, well-being, and security of the country in the world. During the civil war of America, the foreign policy was to focus on national interests. The interference of foreign entities was not considered as justifiable. It was upheld that the affairs of the state were internal matters and must not be intervened by others. The US declared an ‘open door policy’ that consisted of principles generated for protecting privileges for all those countries that were involved in China trade. It also aimed at supporting the territorial and administrative integrity of China. In World War I, the US remained neutral for three years. In 1917, it intervened the war and played an important role in the Paris Peace Conference in 1918. The neutrality acts of 1935-37 intended to isolate the US from the conflicts in Europe. With the start of World War II, the US foreign policy intended to help the allied forces. The US adopted ‘containment policy’ in the cold war as a response to the Soviet Union’s moves for the expansion of communism. It comprised many strategies for the prevention of communist spread. The new foreign policy of the US entails the promotion of democracy, development of the third world countries, elimination of terrorism, strengthening of the world economy, etc.
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